


Timer

by hirusen



Series: Stories Of Tumblr [6]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Grim Reapers, Horror, I May Have Been Drinking When I Wrote A Few Of These Chapters, Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Supernatural Elements, Urban Fantasy, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:55:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26557744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hirusen/pseuds/hirusen
Summary: You are suddenly able to see numbers above people's heads which are counting down and you have no idea why. One person you meet reaches 0 and...
Series: Stories Of Tumblr [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1231778
Kudos: 1





	1. 3...2...1...

She didn't know what to do. Or even how to react.

The guy was just...gone. A truck had plowed through him like he was tissue paper; there was still some fragments of meaty chucks that could be his leg or...was it his arm? It was impossible to tell, even more so as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground. Or, tried to. Something was keeping the bile trapped in her throat, forcing her to watch on in stunned horror as the surrounding people screamed, cried, and scattered. But she could do nothing.

She's been seeing these numbers over people's heads ever since she woke up on April 17th, 2017. The numbers looked like...timers, was the best way she could describe them. Counting down to something.

This was the first time she ever saw one of them hit zero before.

 _So, these are like death clocks, or something?_ It was an odd thought, but the only one that seemed to fit for right now. Nothing else seemed to explain it. But, why her? Why was she able to see these things and no one else could? And she knows no one else could see them; she tried to point it out to her boyfriend, but he said that he didn't see anything at all. He was honest in saying that he believed she did, but there was an undertone in those words that told her he thought she was starting to lose it.

Maybe she was, after seeing this. If what she was seeing really were people's death clocks, would she even be able to stop someone from dying? Granted, she's not the superhero type and would never become one, but... She shook the thought away, not wanting to focus on it for now. Now, she needed to gather herself and help the police who were now showing up.

"Alright, everyone, please stay calm and clear the area." Or not. She watched as a few people tried to tell the officers what happened, but they just got brushed away and told to calmly leave the area. Why? Wasn't it their job to figure out what happened? To know where the truck driver might've gone, since this was a hit-and-run? Why weren't they--

"Well, damn girly, I didn't think you would've lived this long." A male voice spoke up from behind her and she spun around. She was shocked to see what looked like an angel: short platinum blonde hair, vibrant blue-green eyes, and tawny skin. He wore a pair of black boots and jeans with a single silver chain on the left side, and a leather jacket with a black t-shirt from what she could see. "What do you mean?" She asked, confused by his statement. "You can see the numbers, right?" That made her interest pique. No one else that she knew knows about them or can see them, after all.

"I can." "And yet you're still kickin'. Heh." The man chuckled, a smile being pulled on his lips, which were surrounded by dark stubble, making her realize that his hair is dyed. "That's a miracle in itself." "What do you mean? Who are you, anyway?" "Who I am isn't important right now. And what I mean is this..." He trailed off, leveling his eyes right on hers.

"You're suppose to be dead."


	2. Shift

"...Dead?" "Mm-hm, like a doornail." She wanted to puke. "No. No, I--" "When did you start seeing the numbers? Actually, let's worry about that later." The man spoke as he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against and made his way towards her. "You got a name you remember, girly?" _A name I remember?_ What kind of question was that?

"Yes, I'm--" Blank. She tried again. "My name is..." "Ah, that's what I was worried about." She snapped her attention to him, anger and confusion battling for control of her face. "Let's see..." He then pulled out a small, black book from his back pocket. As he flipped through the pages, more and more questioned started to pile up. Why could he see the numbers? What did he mean that she was suppose to be dead? Why did he want to know when she started to see these numbers? What's in that book? Why can't she remember her own name? What on earth was he? Angel? Demon? Something else?

"Hmm... That's odd." "W-What is?" She cursed herself for stuttering. "Well, this is suppose to hold the names of everyone who is suppose to die this year, but I don't see your name on here." "Suppose to die...in 2020?" The man chuckled softly. "Yeah. I mean, sure it's only February, but you guys are in for a wild fuckin' ride in a month or so." "There's no way you can know who's going to die this year." The man sighed deeply, kneeling down to her eye level. "...Oh, I get it. You're one of those non-religious types." She scowled at him. So what if she didn't believe in any sort of higher power? And how on earth did he know that from just looking at her?

"You a stalker or something?" Now _THAT_ got a real reaction out of him. Loud, boisterous laughter escaped him as glee was painted across his face. "A stalker? Oh, now that's a good one! Holy hell, I didn't think you'd be able to crack a joke!" His laughter soon turning into a coughing fit, one he had trouble settling down from. "Ahh... But no, I'm no stalker." She narrowed her eyes at him. "How can I believe you?" "You can't. But know that if I was a stalker, like you're claiming me to be, I'd have already drugged you and packed you up; the things I would do to you if I was..." All humor and lightness he had was lost the moment he started talking again, and cold, twisted pleasure warped his features.

She felt a cold sweat slip down her neck and back in that instant, but then he went back to his cheerful persona. "Now that you understand how poor your chance of survival would be if I was a stalker of yours--you still have two that you don't know about, by the way--let's quietly head back to my car and I'll take you to where I work. Hopefully we'll get some answers about who you are." She swallowed nervously; she didn't want to go, but what she just saw made it clear that she'd have no chance if she tried to run. He extended a hand to help her to her feet and she took it, watching as he frowned as he did.

"...Sorry. People have caused me a lot of headaches in the past, and I didn't want a repeat of the last one. I honestly didn't mean to scare you like that." As he spoke, she realized that he has what her best friend since grade school calls an honest face. They express how they really feel about something, despite what they may say. And he honestly felt bad for scaring her.

* * *

It was a rather long drive back to where this guy worked. He drove a car that a middle-class family would call sporty, so he didn't stand out too much. _How many times has he drove past me?_ How many times has he drove past normal people without anyone noticing? "...What are you?" "Not asking for a name first, huh? You're smarter than I gave you credit for." She grunted in annoyance, but she wasn't going to deny that she did smile a little at his words. "Well, it's a little complicated. If you were a religious folk, I could give an example of what I am, but...I guess the best way I can explain it is that I'm a demon reaper."

"A what?" He laughed loudly again. "I understand how strange that sounds, but it's the best way to explain it for now. You should understand it better when we get to my work." "But the basic principle is that...you're a...grim reaper?" "Oh, look who had rightfully earned top of her class." He teased, getting another glare from her. "Yes, I am a grim reaper, but there's different types of reapers." "So a demon reaper, what? Hunts down evil people or something like that?" "Oh no, that's what an angel reaper does." The confusion was crystal clear on her face.

"Again, I understand that this doesn't make a lot of sense. You'll get a better explanation once we get to my work... Though, I'm gonna catch hell for it."


	3. Shatter

This guy's work looked like a standard corporate building. A tower of at least 50 floors above ground that were covered in tinted windows and sleek metal. "Here we are." He turned to face her then, since he didn't allow her to be in his passenger seat. "Now, a few ground rules: you ARE going to see things you will not understand, but act like you do; do NOT stare at anyone with wings, tails, or horns for more than a minute; and lastly, stay by my side." Those were some...odd rules. "What? Is there some kind of Halloween party inside or something?"

The man thought about it for a minute, brushing a few strands of his platinum hair out of his eyes as he figured out how he was gonna respond. "Not in the way you're thinking, but not too far off the truth." He got out of the car then, and she had no choice but to follow along; she didn't have her own car, she saw him pocket his keys to this one, and she knew that no taxis ever come down to this area even if you called for one to pick you up. Plus, her phone was almost dead.

He strode through the doors like he didn't have a little tagalong, and easily ignoring the hoard of what appeared to be **actual** demons and angels, and other otherworldly creatures. People with all sorts of wings. People with tails of all kinds. People with a variety of horns. Unnatural skin tones and colors. Unnatural eye colors that do NOT look like they could be colored contacts. Inhuman teeth, face shapes, body sizes and proportions. Individuals with extra facial features or limbs. "Wha--" "Rules, girly." The man quickly reminded her, she spotting a soft smile on his lips when he saw that she stayed close to him.

"HEY! There you are!" A booming voice clapped across the lobby, making her flinch, but the man laugh. A man with almost impossibly pale skin and a shock of black hair approached them, a wide grin on his face; this new guy was, so far, the only other person in the lobby to look like a person. "Hiya, Jewels. I see you've dyed your hair again." The man named Jewels pouted. "Oh, like you're one to talk." "Hey at least people can tell I have eyebrows." The comment made her inspect Jewels a little closer and... _Wow_. He indeed have eyebrows but his natural hair color was snow white so they blended with his skin tone so much that you won't normally see them. "You think I should dye them too?" "If you don't wanna look like a freak, yeah." Jewels scoffed then, smacking the man in the shoulder, but the giggle that followed the actions told her that he didn't mean it in any kind of aggression.

"You might wanna beat feet though; the bossman seems pissed about something." The man's face blanched a little bit and before he could open his mouth, another voice screeched out, "Aserel!" "...Shit..." The man who had brought her here, Aserel apparently, bit out as a huge tree of a man stormed over to the trio, his snake slit eyes targeted on her. "You wanna tell me why on the ground the gods granted us is **_SHE_** here?" He growled out, a stubby finger nearly jabbed into her face. The rest of the beings that had been milling about halted, all eyes now staring at the group.

 _"A human?" "What? I thought they couldn't get in here?" "Did he bring her?"_ The hushed comments echoed in the silence, but Aserel was just staring his boss down. "She can see them, boss." Aserel stated and everyone in the whole room seemed to have just been gut punched. "I found her at the most recent death, the man who was killed in the hit and run by the truck driver, and upon asking her if she could see the Timers, instantly understood that she wasn't like us." "What? But humans can't see the Timers." Jewels pointed out, their boss glaring at her now.

"What's your name, human?" "She doesn't remember and she's not anywhere in this year's death toll." Aserel stated as he flashed that black book again. "I believe that she's listed in a prior year's toll." "And that's why you brought her here? Why didn't you just reap her soul and put her at peace?" The towering man grunted, but all Aserel did was take her wrist, force her to hold her hand up and placed his hand against her's. "...No way..." Jewels looked horrified by the mere action, and murmurs of similar horror cropped up in pockets around the whole room.

"...Would explain why our numbers have been off." "Sir?" The man still glared at her, but now it held more concern than hate. "Alright. Go through the prior tolls and see if you can find her. We need to understand why this is happening." "Of course, sir." "And once that's done, I want both you, and you too Jewels, to report to my office." Jewels looked a little defeated at that, but agreed just like Aserel did. "...Come on. We better move before some of the people here try to attack you." Aserel spoke as he encircled his fingers around her wrist and guided--or was it dragged?--her to an elevator, called it, and pushed a button for the 4th sub-basement floor once it came.

"...What was all that about?" Aserel sighed, almost collapsing against the wall of the elevator. "I was hoping that the boss wouldn't find out about this so soon." He muttered before looking eyes with her. "We reapers, no matter what type, aren't suppose to bring humans here." "I figured that out. No, I'm talking about you touching my hand. Why did that freak everyone out?" "...It means that you're still alive. Like, actually alive, not a soul that doesn't realize that they're dead." What she thought the cold touch of death would be like trailed down her spine. "That comment I made when I first met you? It helps eases lost souls into accepting a reaper's help, so we can guide them to the afterlife. This is the first time in all of history that a human was still alive when they could see the Timers."

"Is that what those clocks above people's heads are called?" Aserel hummed softly, seeming to finally gather himself. "Now, to repeat an earlier question: do you remember when you started to see the Timers?" The month and day were suddenly blurry to her, but... "I know it was sometime in 2017." Aserel's eyebrows nearly shot off his face. "You've been able to see the Timers for THREE YEARS?!" She flinched and he quickly apologized. "...Is that bad?" "Very. I'll explain it later. First we need to find out who you are." He said as the elevator doors opened up.


	4. Identity

What was revealed as those doors opened was a huge corridor with dozens of doors at different intervals. "We'll need to look into the toll archives to find out who you are..." "Ok, which door is that?" Aserel glanced to her and smiled softly. "You're eager to know now because your memories are starting to fade, right?" She didn't verbally agree, but it was clear that she didn't need to. "Don't worry. Once we find out who you are, your remaining memories will stabilize." Aserel spoke as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, guiding her out of the elevator and down the corridor. He took her to the sixth door on the right and punched in a code on the keypad, hearing as it beeped twice before unlocking.

It looked like a normal office; a desk with a computer and chair, and a filing cabinet next to it, a small analog clock hanging on the wall to the left and softly ticking away. "Alright. 2017 would be...this drawer." Aserel hushed to himself as he pulled open the third drawer and she was stunned by all the little black books that were inside it. "Oh. We keep records of those who die all around the world, and while each continent has its own toll, they get split up into countries so it's easier to keep track." "...How many pages are in those books?" Aserel just chuckled. "Ah, here we are. The death toll for the United States." He pulled out a book and quickly began flipping through pages. "Now without a month or date it's gonna take me a few minutes to find you." "How will you know it's me? You just gonna start spouting out names until I can recall which one is mine?"

"While that would be hilarious, no. We reapers see an image of who the person is when we read their name so that, in case they get so horribly mutilated that it transfers over through their death, we can still tell who it is we're speaking with." "...You have a complicated job, Aserel." "You've got no idea. My type of reaper is already hard enough to come by, not to mention that we're currently in high demand all around the world." She sat down in the chair and tilted her head at that. "How come?" "You know what they say about the cat, right?" She glared at him and he shrugged.

"Your funeral. We demon reapers are in charge of guiding pure and innocent souls to the afterlife, as well as making sure the ones who ended their lives are met with fates even serial killers are afraid of." She nearly lost her lunch for the third time that day. "Oh, and the reason you can't vomit is because you're near me; if you were with Sophie, you won't be able to stop." "Who's Sophie?" "An angel reaper. Remember how I said that _they're_ the ones who go after the scum of the earth?" A lot of things suddenly made sense in that moment. "So...people who've suffered suddenly horrible fates? Or survived by some unearthly miracle?" "An angel or demon reaper was nearby, yeah. But it also has something to do with the Timers too." She wasn't going to lie, while she WAS getting some of her questions answered, this was getting really confusing.

"Again, I'll give you a more detailed explanation later." Aserel stated, tossing her a soft and warm smile of sympathy.

* * *

"...This is rather long for a few minutes, Aserel." She stated, now bored of spinning around in the chair like a six year old. "Sorry. I have to try to find a name without an image--since you're not actually dead--and that's not the easiest thing to do." "And there's no images that look like me either?" He shook his head. "Granted, I'm only now starting April, so it could be a while longer." She groaned loudly. "...You can play Solitaire on the computer if you want." "Really?" She spun around and deactivated the screen saver as she wiggled the mouse. And sure enough, right on the home screen was Solitaire.

"Why is this even on here?" "Ok. This may be a corporation ran by Limbo, but that doesn't mean we have hellishly good internet; we get bored when things are updating or the WiFi is down too." She glanced over her shoulder to look at Aserel. "You mean you have people who work in these offices?" "Yeah. I mean, everyone who works here did. I did it." That was a strange image. "Would you really want someone you have no idea how they think wielding a flamethrower or a buzz saw?" "Well, no, but--" "But nothing. When a person gets reborn into a protector--which is what everyone in this building is--we put them to work here for about half a year so that they can get adjusted to living this life, as well as let us get to know how they think. You can learn much by how many forms someone fills out compared to how many breaks they take."

"How did you do?" She asked as she started up a new game of Solitaire; it was something to do other than wait here and talk. "I'm not someone anyone pegged as a workaholic. Granted I took like, 19 breaks during my shifts, but I filled out a total of 547 forms." She nearly fell out of the chair. "To put that into perspective, on average, office workers would fill out about 220 forms per shift." And he almost did triple that. And he really was a workaholic because despite explaining all of this to her, Aserel never looked up from the pages of that book.

"Katherine Reed."

One name and images flooded into her. "April 17th, 2017. Age, 24." Aserel glanced up to Katherine. "You were suppose to die in your sleep, to be found by Richard at noon when he returned home during his lunch break." "Th-That's...That's when I started to see those Timers over people's heads." Aserel knelt down to Katherine's eye level. "Breathe. Remember, you're still alive." She didn't even realize she was having a panic attack; she hasn't had one for over a decade. She reached out and without question Aserel took her hand. The contact was all she needed this time to stop it.

"...Other memories returned, didn't they?" Aserel asked and Katherine nodded. "You'll have time to process them when we head up to the boss, ok?" Aserel hushed, tucking a long strand of her chocolate hair behind her ear. Katherine nodded.


	5. Devastation

"--I still think it's an unwise move to make, boss!" Jewels' voice pipped up as Aserel guided Katherine down the hallway to the single door, his voice clear as day despite the door being closed. "That can't be good." Aserel muttered as he knocked three times and waited. "Now, no matter what the boss says or threatens, you stay quiet, ok? He might be looking for a reason to kill you." She nodded her head, still not able to think that straight thanks to all of the memories that were piling back up in her head. "...Enter." The boss of Jewels and Aserel grunted and Aserel entered, his hand on the small of Katherine's back to steady her, knowing that she was still shaken from all the lost memories flooding back into her head.

"So, you've found her name." "Yes. May I present one Katherine Reed." "No..." "...What?" "Girly?" Aserel hushed, trying to ignore the hard glare his boss was giving the woman next to him. "Kaira... I, I-I changed my name to Kaira; Katherine is just my birth name." "Ah." Aserel quickly straightened up and cleared his throat. "Then, forgive me, boss. May I present one Kaira Reed." "...Forgiven." Aserel tried to not let his relief show; his boss was an archdemon, and they weren't known to be forgiving for even minor inconveniences.

"Now that we have her name, what can you tell me about her soul?" "...Not much, I'm afraid. I've run through all of her memories and she lived a life that was neither swayed to a holy or demonic life style. In fact, she lived her life without much of a moral compass." Kaira cocked a brow and looked at both Jewels and Aserel in confusion. "What do you mean, I didn't live with a moral compass?" Aserel raised a hand and a projection appeared on the dark tinted window. "Remember when I said that I'd explain more about the Timers?" She nodded. Looks like this was it.

The first few images, which she realized where her own personal memories, were her stopping a handful of kidnappings and rapes. "You prevented horrible things happening to innocent people, and yet." The next three memories were of the three murders she witnessed first hand. "You were cold and unfeeling watching these people get murdered." "They weren't innocent." "No, you're right. These individuals used good deeds for their own clout, and basically abused their workers, but you still could have stopped these murders from happening if you spoke up. Instead you just stood or sat there, and watched. You didn't care." Aserel dropped his hand, the image of one of the worse CEO's the earth has known getting his skull bashed in with a tire iron now frozen in place.

"You know murder is wrong. You know it's immoral to do something like this." He gestured to the frozen image. "And yet, you felt nothing as it happened right before your eyes. You didn't even know who the guy was until you heard it in the news the following morning." "...So maybe there's something wrong with my head. That doesn't--" Aserel placed a finger to Kaira's lips, quieting her. "There is no history of any mental dysfunction in all of your family's genetics." Aserel's boss snake eyes narrowed on Kaira again. "Then why did she act this way? Clearly that would indicate a demonic life style."

"My theory, is that she might have been able to sense when people's Timers were about to run out." "What? But that's..." "Jewels, we both know it's not entirely impossible. Granted, the people who have been able to do this were either on the autism spectrum or sociopaths, but like I said, it's only a theory." Kaira was now glaring at Aserel. "We are not saying people who are autistic or sociopaths are bad people, after all there's bad apples in every barrel, we're just saying they're more likely to sense when a person's Timer is about to run out."

"So, what does this have to do with her still being alive?" The boss asked and Aserel sighed. "That I still don't know." Kaira was staring at the frozen image and felt as her jaw dropped. The man's Timer...there's no way... "Aserel?" "Yes, Kaira?" "Can you...replay this memory?" "Now why, child, would you want that?" The boss asked and much to Jewels' and Aserel's surprise, she glared at him. Ignoring the growling that their boss was now giving, Aserel did as she asked. Kaira watched as the man that was about to be murdered Timer, which said he had 36 hours to live, suddenly flash down to 5 seconds and when those five seconds passed, the group that killed him showed up. "Now one of the kidnapping and rape attempts." Aserel smiled softly and did as she said.

In both cases, she watched as their Timers went from a normal count to sudden flashing of erratic numbers, which settled back into their normal count after she intervened. "Why did their Timers do that?" "Because in that moment, when the kidnapping or rape is in progress, their fate is uncertain. When you intervened, their Timers went on as normal like you saw. If you hadn't? Depending on the intentions of the people in the kidnapping, those people might live with a shorter Timer or not be found alive; for the rape victims, that depends on their strength of will and how willing they are to seek help and therapy. Some of them can go on with a normal Timer, while others have shorter ones, or in some cases, Timers that won't see them through the night.

"Every action has a consequence for your world, every choice and decision a person makes could lengthen or shorten not only their Timer, but the Timers of the people around them, or the people they love and care for." "It could change the Timers for the people they hate, as well." Jewels spoke up, his hand now resting for a moment on Kaira's shoulder. "...Is her lesson over, reapers?" Their boss hissed out and while Jewels flinched, Aserel stood firm again the abrasive tone of the man's voice. "Without knowing why she is still alive when her Timer has expired, I have deemed it too dangerous for her to be here." Aserel bristled. "What?" "You heard me, boy. She is to return to her life and home with _out_ you, or any reaper or protector, at her side."

"Just abandon her when she's about to go into the worst day of her life?!" Kaira stared at Aserel then, her eyes flicking to Jewels, but his didn't meet hers. "What...do you mean?" "Meeting with a reaper marks the end of your normal life, girl." The boss purred out, a sick glee on his face. "Any and all stability you know is about to crumble into dust under your feet and there is nothing you can do to stop it without a reaper's or protector's aid." He looked too joyful about that. "Now, see her out, Jewels. I need to have a long **discussion** with Aserel." "You can't do this, Kain!" "And why not?!" Kain boomed, his hands slamming onto his desk as he shot up, his snake eyes shooting daggers at Aserel.

"Unguided, and unprotected, you know exactly what will be hunting her! What she'll witness!" "Exactly!" Aserel, for the first time, recoiled in what looked like fear. "SHE is the reason our numbers have been off! SHE needs to die in order to restore balance!" "And you think, letting those **_things_** hunt her, letting her witness the deaths of people in front of her eyes over and over again, while this world is on the brink if a global pandemic that will kill more people than we have working reapers for, is a good idea?!" "Escort her out, Jewels." "Jewels, don't you fucking do it."

Jewels was torn. He clearly had to listen to this monster of a boss because he's his employer, but at the same time, there's clearly a deep bond Jewels and Aserel share that makes him want to listen to his friend more than their boss.

"Do I need a code to enter the elevator?" "Kaira?!" Aserel barked in stunned confusion. "No, you don't." The boss bit out, eyes still daggers. "First floor, right? That's the main entrance?" Jewels weakly nodded. "Kaira? Kaira!" She didn't listen to Aserel's cries as she quickly spun on her heel and left the building.

* * *

Well, Aserel was right. This is the worse day of her life.

She had to walk about 17 blocks before she was able to catch a taxi; couldn't be drove to her home since the driver was off the clock and wasn't getting paid to drive her; her card was declined so she had to pay with the remaining cash she had for the rest of next two weeks; she stepped in vomit on the way home; found the stray cat she fed flattened in the middle of the street; her home was a mess because Richard had a mental break down; the two got into their very first fight and ended up breaking up; called the bank and found that someone had committed fraud with her card; and to top it off, the tea set her late grandmother gave her had been shattered during Richard's break down.

She took a short, hot shower, curled up on her bed after making herself a cup of tea, and just cried.


	6. 2 Months

She always knew when no reapers were nearby now.

She was still in shock from watching as a woman murdered both her husband and then herself, watching as she took the steak knife that came with their meal and ripped him open from throat to penis, guts and viscera and blood spilling and spraying out in wet gushes, soaking her before she took the knife to her throat and slit it open wide and deep, a torrent of blood exploding out from the wound. As she was forced to watch the horror show, she threw up her own meal, and stopped not long after.

Any reapers that had been nearby would either stop her from puking or make it so she almost couldn't stop. Just like Aserel said... _Aserel..._ Kaira wonders what happened to him after she left. After she learned about these Timers, now having been a witness to over 9 deaths, eleven if she included this blood fest. She really should have learned by now to leave when she sees someone's Timer jump to mere seconds, but the suddenness of it always surprises her, keeping her in place just long even for the death to happen.

Granted, among the screaming and crying mob of scared diners, a few of their Timers jumped down from what she originally saw, but she'll be long away from any of those people before the grip of death cradles them.

Kaira allowed the EMT to examine her, telling her to try and drink this or try to eat that to help with the shock, and then sent her home.

* * *

An almost foreboding place now.

Of course, she had no where else to go. Her mother was dead and her home was now owned by a couple of crackheads, her father disowned her because she changed her name (which she had a good reason to do so in the first place) so that was a no go, and Richard's parents want nothing to do with her now that she and their son had a fight and broke up. Sure, she could try and call one of her three honest friends to see if they would let her crash at their place, but they were all out of town, so they'd have to mail her their keys and who knows how long that's gonna take, what with this global pandemic and all.

That was another thing that Aserel had mentioned that day too... "How much do those people know about what's gonna happen? They're reapers, so they clearly know when people are gonna die, but..." She then let out a screech as a spider crawled onto her foot, Kaira kicking wildly to get it off her and quickly climbing onto her sofa. "Oh my GOD! How do these things keep getting in here?!" She barked, squeaking in fear as it crawled onto the wall and seemed to stare at her.

"Why is everyone so afraid of these little guys?" A voice, familiar to Kaira, spoke before a man appeared from around the corner. His tawny skin almost glew in the sunset as he reached out towards the spider and Kaira watched in amazement as it quickly moved into his palm and stayed still there. "Spiders are natural protectors." "T-They...are?" Vibrant blue-green eyes met hers and he smiled. "Of course. While they normally sustain themselves on the insect population, they also catch other things." "Such as?" He moved closer to her then, Kaira scrambling away, and watched as the spider climbed out of his hand and onto the wall, scaling it quickly to the ceiling, before dangling down on a thin thread.

Then she saw it. A small black ball, almost like a puff of soot, floating towards her and then the spider quickly snared it and started to wrap it in its silk. "They also catch negative emotions and spirits before they can infect you. When you suddenly find yourself in a foul mood? It's usually because too many of those things have been absorbed into your body. Spiders are wonderful for catching them, as their webs are able to trap all manner of things." He still had that short platinum blonde hair, still wore that same outfit, still had that dark stubble.

Kaira slowly got off the sofa, walked closer to him... " **OW!** " And slapped Aserel hard across the face. He stared at her in disbelief for a moment, a hand coming to cup his stinging cheek out of instinct. "What was that for?!" "Two MONTHS!" Aserel decided not to argue then. "I haven't seen you in two whole fucking hellish months, and _THAT_ is what you have to say when I see you again?!" Aserel looked confused. "Did...none of my messages get to you?" "Messages? What messages?" "Guess that's a no... Damn it, what got to them?"

Aserel cupped in chin between his fingers, lost in thought, and that's when Kaira noticed that there was a faint scar on his throat. One she knew wasn't there when they first met. "...What happened to you?" "Hmm? Oh, Kain and I had a long... **conversation** and I had to double down on my duties, but got transferred to Asia. A lot of the people and things there do NOT play nice most of the time." "So is this from the trip to Asia or your boss?" Kaira asked as she reached out and gently traced the scar on his throat. "...Kain did that. Truth be told, I can be injured by humans, spirits, and everything else that exists in this world, but only powerful entities can leave scars like this." A few drips of fear ran down her body at those words. To think this Kain would be powerful enough to do this to Aserel... She shuttered at the mere idea of what he could do to her.

"Anyway, I came to get you to safety." "Huh?" _Wow, Kaira, such insightful responses._ She's not one to miss what someone said.


End file.
